Culture Clash Magazine Introducing a New Perspective

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CURRENT ISSUE

Jan./Feb. 2020

Sacred Place

Sacred Place

Throughout history and across the world, people have asked questions about where the world came from, who they are, and what their purpose is in life. These questions have different answers for different people. Some say that there is more to life than just the physical world, and some say that by living life in a certain way the answers can be found.* I was raised in a Christian (Methodist) home. Ditto for both of my parents’ upbringings, though the religious denomination di

Is Texas a Theocracy?

Is Texas a Theocracy?

If you read through the Texas Republican Party’s 37-page long list of “principles,” it is hard to find many of the 334 items included that don’t mention God, religion, and exclusively Christian values in some form or another. It’s no secret that the Republican Party doesn’t exactly leave religion out of their politics, and living in our red state as a non-Christian—or as one who simply does not subscribe to an outdated and oftentimes oppressive lifestyle—means enduring polici

Spirituality Behind Bars

Spirituality Behind Bars

The music fills the chapel and even those can’t, sing happily along belting the words out more or less in rhythm with the choir and band. The preacher soon takes the pulpit and give a sermon filled with passion talking of love and forgiveness for those who truly repent. This same scene is repeated across the country and world countless churches, synagogues, and houses of worship of every denomination and faith. There is one glaring difference here though. Every member of this

Christ Wants Us to Be Activists

Christ Wants Us to Be Activists

Jesus Christ is such a revolutionary! What radical grace to die the way he did, to change the world through non-violence and his relentless love for mankind (John 17:20-25). How backwards to social hierarchy to embrace everyone with zero judgement (Matthew 7) and to give benefit and honor to the lowly as a vehicle to teach the strong and wise (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). What a slap in the face of the American dream to ask us to give away our possessions and money (Mark 10:21-31

H.P. Lovecraft: How H.P. Lovecraft Caused an Atheist to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Cthulhu

H.P. Lovecraft: How H.P. Lovecraft Caused an Atheist to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Cthulhu

When H.P. Lovecraft was 5 years old, after losing his father to mental illness, it was revealed to him that Santa Claus was not real. A young Lovecraft must have been slightly broken, because he angrily responded, "How is God not equally a myth?" Over his life, he would pen great monsters and present horrid visions on the world in an effort to keep finding or creating order when he saw only lies and greater fictions than his characters Azathoth or Cthulhu. He was a man who ne

Meditating on “God”
Or whatever you want to call It...

Meditating on “God” Or whatever you want to call It...

...Nature, Consciousness, Allah, Buddha Nature, Creation, Krishna, Brahman, Om, Jesus, God… whatever your belief is, meditation brings you closer to The Divine Ground of Being, to truth, and it closer to you. I would like to share with you a simple, accessible form of meditation that transcends all religions and dogmas. Though its origins are Eastern, the practice of mantra meditation, repeating a mantra, called japa in Sanskrit, is common in religions the world over. Repeati